Following the initial pilot project, Ambassadors demonstrated increased confidence to motivate peers to care for reefs, boosted knowledge of reefs and reef health issues, and a sense of motivation, optimism and excitement about their role in reef conservation.
- Most participants indicated that the workshop increased their knowledge on: Subtropical reefs (85%), Reef threats (82%),
Individual actions that can protect reefs (93%) - Post workshop confidence scores increased for: running hands-on education activities, reef monitoring, discussing reef health issues and motivating peers to act on conservation
- Participants showed their ocean optimism, with volunteers reporting feeling motivated (99% of participants), optimistic (96%), excited (96%) and confident (86%) after the workshop
These results confirmed to us that this innovative program can make a real difference within the community. Just some of the work undertaken by our Ambassadors so far includes:
- Contributing to more than 60 community events helping to get the word out about local reefs and how people can help look after them
- Helping to launch the Townsville Seaside Scavenge Chapter to seek new ways to connect people to the environmental challenge of marine debris
- Assisting with the launch and coordination of the Coast to Coral monthly talk series in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, connecting hundreds of local community members with coastal and marine science in the region
- Working with social scientist Dr Angela Dean from The University of Queensland to develop, deliver and evaluate key messages to implement targeted communications approaches to enhance outcomes
- Joined the fight to reduce the usage of plastic straws in conjunction with The Last Straw on the Great Barrier Reef campaign
Keen to be part of developing this project further? You can check out our business prospectus or email us at [email protected].